Savior II
by Fiery Wordess
Summary: Harry, Kate, Hermione, and Ron are growing up. This chronicles their second year at Hogwarts. More hints as to Kate's special power.
1. Chapter 1

**Savior: Year II**

Kate pressed her forehead up against the cool window of the airplane. She could do that now; contact lenses had been a pricey but worthwhile purchase. She hadn't originally intended to wear them on the plane, but she had fallen asleep with them in the night before. Now every time that she blinked, they fogged up and shifted slightly. Her sister was asleep next to her, mouth slightly open in an unbecoming snore. Kate wished that she could fall asleep, but she was distracted by the idea of Harry being in trouble with the Ministry. Ron had written to her and had filled her in on everything at once: Harry hadn't been responding to letters and he had used a spell and the ministry had reprimanded him. Knowing his aunt and uncle, they were probably confiscating mail by some means, such as killing Hedwig.

Kate had grown an inch over the summer and she gloried in her newly grown hair- it had finally reached the nape of her neck and made a stubby, but very real ponytail that bobbed at the back of her head. One thing that pleased her about being twelve was that she was beginning to develop, nothing huge or even quite noticeable, but a little jiggle was more than nothing.

America. She had missed a lot about it. She had reveled in every bite of fatty, greasy, yet addicting hamburger, heavily powdered donuts, and cheesy-cheesy pizza. She found that she felt awkward surrounded by American accents again. It was so bizarre trying to tell her friends and family stories about England… all the while editing out anything to do with magic. She had learned to keep quiet, though, resisting the temptation to share with her parents the tale of her fighting to get to the Sorcerer's Stone. A bit of fear had crept into her heart as she thought of being kept from school because her parents were afraid to send her back. It was a horrible notion and one that kept her mouth firmly shut.

The plane speaker crackled on and informed the passengers that they would soon be landing and Meghan jolted up suddenly. Kate felt a swell of relief as she rubbed her tired eyes. Consulting her sister's new watch, a lime green contraption with a ticking arm resembling actual hands, told Kate that it was nearly nine thirty P.M. by English time. Soon she was shepherded off of the plane by her parents, then to stand waiting for her luggage, and into the car on the way home at last. Meghan fell asleep in the car and Mary Jane dozed off as well. Only Dr. Slate and Kate managed to keep their eyes open, for Dr. Slate this was paramount as he was driving.

Privet Drive was dark save for the windows of inhabitants who were still awake in their homes. The streetlamps were alight, glowing a dull yellow and casting small glows on the sidewalk. Kate and her family pulled into the driveway and soon had unloaded their car. The house smelled clean and fresh as they entered because Mary Jane had insisted on cleaning before leaving, a habit that she refused to let go. Mary Jane and Dr. Slate went to their bedroom and Meghan and Kate went their separate ways. Kate collapsed on her bed, not even bothering to pull down the covers and she fell asleep.

Her dreams had taken on a different quality over the summer, though they were just as disturbing. Now as she walked down the road, she could see two distinct figures, one a broad-shouldered man with a dark face beckoning quickly to her, commanding her to follow, and the other was slightly taller but of a similar build. He didn't beckon to her at all but simply held out a patient hand.

Kate had no idea what this meant. She didn't share these dreams with anyone at home. The next morning she woke up, always with the same frustrated feeling that had she gone a bit closer, she may have seen one of the men's faces. The first thing she did after running and showering that morning was grab an old basket from one of the storage closets and start packing food inside of it. She recalled that the Dursley's had not been particularly good about feeding Harry, and if he was in captivity, chances were that Harry was starving by now. Her parents were busy unpacking upstairs and Meghan was watching television, spread lazily over the long, squashy sofa.

"What are you making?" Meghan sniffed.

"_Les_ cookies chocolate chip," Kate responded, pulling a sheet out of the oven. "But not for you, fats," Kate joked, putting another sheet in.

"Hey, just because you're a stick now doesn't mean you can call me fat," Meghan said without much motivation. All Kate could see was Meghan's thick blonde hair coming over the back of the sofa. "And why didn't you offer me a beater?"

"A Beater?" Kate asked, thinking of Quidditch. She had gotten an owl from Seamus bearing a postcard with moving players in blue _Tornadoes _gear.

"You know, one of those stirring things?" Meghan grunted sarcastically.

"Oh! A beater… um… You can still have one if you want. I haven't licked it off _completely -._"

"That's gross,"

"I thought it was good,"

"You're gross,"

"Now you're crossing the line,"

Kate finished packing Harry's basket of goodies and left some cookies on the counter for her family. She left a note saying that she was going to visit Harry and would be back sometime later.

The sky in England tended to be gray, and today was no exception. It was muggy outside and a fair share of middle-aged women tended their gardens with ridiculous gardening hats and typical gloves with patterns of flowers and leaves. Kate, in loose beige cargo pants, navy blue flip-flops, and a sky blue tank top, was the only teenager on the street. When she finally reached number four Privet Drive, she paused to tuck a tendril of hair fruitlessly behind her left ear and reached out to ring the bell.

Muffled grunts of "I'll get it" signified the approach of a rather beefy personage. The door was yanked open by a fat blonde-haired boy with small watery blue eyes and apparently not a lot of room for a brain, but Kate wasn't judging Dudley Dursley.

"Who are you?" He drawled, looking Kate up and down suspiciously.

"My name is… is… Callie Townsend, I'm here to see Harry Potter," Kate lied quickly. She realized that if the Dursley's knew that she was related to her parents, unnecessary tensions would mount between the two households.

Dudley's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

Kate drew herself up indignantly. "Is Harry here?"

"I don't know," Dudley said cautiously. "Lemme ask my mum," the door slammed in her face and Kate counted to forty-seven, tapping a nervous foot on the welcome mat, holding her wicker basket with both hands, before Petunia Dursley answered the door. Kate was surprised to see such horse-y teeth in a human woman but kept her gaze on the tall woman's eyes.

"Yes?" She asked sharply.

"My name is Callie Townsend and I'm here to speak with Harry Potter," Kate was beginning to wonder if Harry was hog-tied in his cupboard. "May I come in?"

"Why?"

"To speak with Harry, of course," Kate said slowly.

"How do you know…Harry?" Petunia glared at Kate.

Kate grinned. "I'm a witch, of course."

Petunia stiffened. "Then no, you may not come in," she began to close the door but Kate put a hand out.

"You do realize that as a witch I may resort to magic, don't you?"

"I know that you're not allowed to perform magic outside of… _school_," Petunia hissed, turning quite red in the cheeks.

Kate laughed, it was a rather forced sound but she managed nonetheless. "Oh that British institution Hogwarts has the _strangest_ rules! But you see, I attend WWL, or Wizards and Witches of Liberty in Massachusetts, and our rules are quite different."

Petunia's face turned even whiter.

"I assure you nothing horrible will befall you or your family if you give me a few hours with your nephew. And I will not bother you again,"

Petunia slowly opened the door, looking ill and a bit furious. "Follow me, and close the door," she snapped at Kate.

"Of course," Kate gently closed the door behind her and followed Petunia up the stairs. A closed door with a dog flap at the bottom (why a dog flap?) was Petunia's ultimate destination. Removing from her pocket a little bronze key, Petunia unlocked the door and barked "visitor, Harry." Then turning to Kate, "a few hours?"

"Just a few. I won't kill anyone," Kate tried to smile but felt her stomach turning as she thought of Harry being cooped up in his room. She walked through the door and heard the door close behind her and the twisting of a key.

Harry sat on his bed looking perplexed, his hair even messier than usual. There was a hungry and pinched look to his face and his eyes, usually bright, had a dull and bleak gleam about them. In a corner, Hedwig's cage had begun to reek and the owl looked absolutely miserable. Kate wondered if she had been let out since she had arrived. Before Kate could speak, Harry piped up.

"Er… do I know you?"

Kate's mouth dropped. "Glad to see you too, Harry. It's been less than two months and you've forgotten me."

Harry tilted his head to the side, "Kate?" He attempted.

"Phew, glad to see you haven't gone completely mental in here," Kate couldn't smile.

"You look completely different without… your glasses," Harry said. "But I'm ruddy glad to see you." His face broke into a grin, perhaps the first in days.

"What's going on? Why are you in here? Why are in trouble with the Ministry?"

Harry groaned and leaned back against his wall. "It's a crap story,"

Kate took a seat at the foot of his bed and cross her legs. "Speak,"

"Well, I thought that you, Ron, Hermione and Hagrid weren't sending me any letters and then one night Dobby- a House Elf…."

"A House Elf?" Kate interrupted.

"My question too," Harry nodded. "I think they're servants to wizards. Slaves, more like. But Dobby showed up here when the Dursley's had company and… and he told me I shouldn't go back to school because terrible things were going to happen at Hogwarts."

"What terrible things?" Kate asked anxiously.

Harry shrugged. "He wouldn't say. Anytime he tried to tell me something, he'd start… well, _hitting_ himself. He had to punish himself for saying anything he wasn't supposed to, I guess. So then he showed me all your letters and went downstairs- my uncle was having a dinner party- and he smashed Aunt Petunia's pudding using some sort of charm. The Ministry thought I'd done it and sent me a warning. Now I'm locked in here all the time," Harry finished miserably. "And if I do anymore magic, I'll be expelled."

Kate frowned at him. "I'll tell Ron for you. Maybe his dad can do something. Here," she shoved her basket into his lap. "I made you a couple sandwiches and cookies. I don't know how long it will last you, but it's better than nothing."

Harry's glum look gave way to an enormous smile. "Kate, I knew I loved you."

"You just love me because I'm an excellent cook and I'm madly adorable," Kate winked.

"D'you mind if I-."

"Go ahead," Kate nodded.

Harry pulled out a sandwich and started eating. Hedwig fluttered her wings and moved on her perch. "Oh, right," Harry put a piece of his sandwich in the cage.

"Let me take Hedwig home for awhile, at least until we can get you out of here. She shouldn't be locked up like this. It's not healthy,"

A couple hours later, Kate and Hedwig left Harry in solitude. Kate felt terrible leaving him alone. Petunia Dursley ushered her briskly out the door and slammed the door behind her.

"Nice family," Kate muttered to Hedwig.

The minute she got home, she set to work unlocking Hedwig's cage with a bobby pin. Her cage reeked and Kate felt slightly green as she worked. Finally she felt the gears of the lock click and the padlock fell off. Hedwig shot out hooting excitedly.

"Sh! Sh!" Kate covered her own mouth. Hedwig stopped making so much noise and landed on Kate's bed. "I don't want my parents to know you're here. Look, I have a job for you already. I'll feed you first though, okay?" Kate had nicked some bread from the kitchen and let the snowy owl eat it as she wrote Ron a letter explaining Harry's predicament. Once Hedwig had finished, Kate tied the letter to her leg and sent her off.


	2. Chapter 2

**_A_**s it turned out, Kate hardly had to wait for a reply. Ron responded a day later.

_Dear Kate,_

_Thanks for the note. We've got him. Mum's not pleased. We used Dad's flying car. Apparently that's against the law or something, but it worked. Harry was in a rotten state when we got there, so it's good that we did. He was glad to get out of there. He says thanks for sending Hedwig, too, and for cleaning her up. _

_How was America? Did you meet many Americans? You probably did, seeing as how you were there and all and lived there before. _

_Write you later,_

_Ron_

Kate laughed at the strangeness of his letter and set to work on her own.

_Dear Ron,_

_Glad to hear Harry's doing better- his room was not of a good smelling kind. _

_America was very American, but I did not meet any Americans. They were all Chinese tourists coming to America. All of them. Even me. I suspect Hermione is having the same problem in France, except they're probably Belgians come to have some French cuisine as made by Thai people. Yes, the world is very multi-cultural. _

_When are you going to Diagon Alley? Let me know and we can meet up._

_Ciao for now,_

_Kate_

A week or so went by and Kate lived in relative seclusion. Her sister forced her to play tennis with her about four times a week and her father thought it would be a good idea to start her French lessons.

"No language education at that school," Dr. Slate stated grimly. "I don't care what powers they teach you, you need to learn French."

So it was decided that she would take French lessons all year round. He would send her homework by owl and she would complete it. She decided that she hated her father, in a loving kind of way. She received letters from Hermione, Ron and Harry in turn, and eventually got her booklist from Hogwarts.

"Who's Gilderoy Lockhart?" She wondered aloud.

"Like I would know," her sister snorted.

"Rhetorical, _ma soeur_," Kate mumbled.

This year, Mrs. Slate wanted to take Kate to Diagon Alley. Meghan wanted to come too, but then she realized that this would require the will to move further than her sofa of sloth. An occasional tennis player and perpetual television watcher, Meghan did little else.

"Wow, a step into another world," Mary Jane breathed as they entered under the magical archway into Diagon Alley. Tom, the toothless innkeeper at the leaky cauldron, laughed his wheezy laugh and wished them well. "This is fantastic,"

Kate smiled and looked around the busy streets with a feeling of joy bubbling in her chest.

It had been so very long since she had seen the magical streets of Diagon Alley, a whole year, in fact. Mary Jane had never seen them before and pulled Kate into every shop for a look. They went into smelly apothecaries to magical pastry shops, books shops and forty-five minutes passed achieving nothing before Kate reminded her mother that she had promised Ron and Hermione that she'd meet them in Gringotts.

"Gringotts? The place with Goblins, right?"

"Mmhmm," Kate grinned at her mother. "Wait 'til you take the cart ride, it'll make you vomit all over the place."

"That's vulgar," Mrs. Slate scolded half-heartedly, staring at an old peddling witch selling some sort of humming Technicolor fur balls. "Maybe I'll pass the ride, then,"

"Good plan,"

Their conversation came to an abrupt stop as they passed through the silver doors into Gringotts. Kate's mother looked unnerved by the cunning faces of the goblins, her hazel eyes blinking rapidly as if to change their appearance. Kate always felt a bit of a shudder when she saw them, as though they were looking into her mind and sneering at what they saw.

Then, Kate started eagerly towards a cluster of redheads.

"Ron! Harry! Hermione!" She squealed, causing a wizened old witch to scowl in her direction. Kate pounced on them, pulling them into a tight group hug. Hermione's neck was somewhat padded from Kate's arm by her bushy brown hair.

"Hey!" Harry laughed.

"Who are you?" Ron asked, dumbstruck.

Hermione smiled bewilderedly, and then, "Kate! You've gotten… taller!"

"Pff," Kate waved that away. "I've missed you all like mad."

She glanced around the group and saw Mrs. Weasley with her ruddy complexion and kind smile, the gawky and balding Mr. Weasley, Fred and George, Percy the Prefect, and a girl who must have been Ginny, Ron's little sister. She was very pretty, though she looked a bit nervous. Besides the Weasley family were people who must have been Hermione's parents, for she recognized the curiously straight teeth on both, bushy brown hair on the mother and Hermione's eyes on her father.

Mrs. Slate trotted over.

"Oh, this is my mom," Kate introduced to the listening group.

"Hi, I'm Mary Jane,"

"You're not a Muggle, are you?" Mr. Weasley started delightedly.

"Arthur, not now," Mrs. Weasley scolded. She turned her smiling face back to Kate's mom. "You can call me Mollie,"

"Mary Jane," Mrs. Slate smiled back.

While her mother was introduced to the Grangers, Kate began talking with Harry, Hermione, and Ron about the wild car ride to the Burrow, Harry's arrival in the wrong grate ("Malfoy? What a pleasant surprise!") and Hagrid's saving him.

"Busy morning, yes?"

"That's about right," Harry agreed.

"Mum about had a hernia," Ron shook his head. "You'd think we'd never lost somebody in the Floo Network before."

"Well, he could have been somewhere worse," Hermione stated, pursing her lips. "I still can't believe that you broke the law to get him to your house."

Ron pointedly ignored her. "Well, we'd better get our money. We'll meet you back out here, Hermione."

Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but Ron had already turned away, tugging Harry and Kate after him.

"Ah, so glad to see you're still your charming self," Kate smiled, as they were led into the dark tunnel. She reached up to unclasp her necklace and remove the key.

"What?" Ron asked defensively. "She was just going to be annoying, and you know it,"

Kate rolled her eyes and went into the cart with the Weasley children and Harry.

After they had all bagged some of their gold, they tumbled out of the cart and back into the marble halls of Gringotts, where the Grangers, Mary Jane, and Mrs. and Mr. Weasley waited for them.

"Kate, I'm going to get a drink with the Grangers and Mr. Weasley, is that alright with you?"

Kate could tell that her mother had been laughing a lot and the Grangers seemed quite a bit more relaxed that at first.

"Go ahead," Kate nodded. "Hermione, Ron, Harry and I will get our stuff."

"Good girl,"

Mrs. Weasley took Ginny to get her outfitted and soon after they had all departed onto the busy streets of Diagon Alley, Percy walked off, muttering something about needing a new quill.

"Well, kids, you all seem to know where you're going," Fred piped up. "And I think I spot Lee. Let's go,"

"Right then," and George and Fred left.

"Let's get ice creams," Harry offered. "My treat,"

"Who are we to refuse that?" Kate laughed. Inside Florean Fortescue's, they were greeted by hundreds of flavors, including chocolate, vanilla, peanut butter, cotton candy, toffee nut, peppermint, potpourri, and pumpkin. The three of them wandered in and out of shops, picking up supplies. Ron kept turning to look longingly at Chudley Cannon robes in Quality Quidditch Supplies. Hermione rolled her eyes at him and dragged him off to buy more parchment and ink. Hermione asked questions about America and homework in turn. Harry and Ron exchanged exasperated looks.

"Did any of you tell your parents about the Sorcerer's Stone?" Harry asked curiously.

"No," Hermione stated curtly.

"Hahaha! No."

"I'm not mad," Ron said. "Though I think someone did because Mum kept warning me to keep safe this year and stay out of trouble."

"Probably Percy," Kate shrugged. Then she froze and grinned. "WOOD!" She screamed. She bounded over to where the tall, burly sixth year was standing with a few other unfamiliar Hogwarts students and jumped on him. He caught her in the nick of time and hugged her back.

"Slate! You're not starving yourself, are you?" He asked, putting her back down and looking at her with an appraising eye.

"No, silly,"

Oliver Wood grinned at her and looked back to where her friends were standing.

"Potter! How was your summer?"

"Wretched," Harry smiled crookedly.

"Hope it hasn't affected your Quidditch,"

"Aw, how concerned you are!" Kate punched him in the shoulder. Her eye was caught suddenly by a handsome boy walking by. His gray eyes were smiling as he waved to one of the boys in Wood's group. He looked at her for a moment, smiled, and continued on. She felt her heart rate go up a notch.

They went into Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop and fiddled with some nose-biting teacups ("Ow! Ooh, this is good….") and discovered Fred, George and Lee Jordan stocking up on Dr. Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks. They kindly threatened to shove them up their anuses if they told their parents. Inside another store full of old cauldrons, ancient books, and other antique knick-knacks, they found Percy engrossed in a book called _Prefects Who Gained Power._

"_A study of Hogwarts prefects and their later careers,_" Ron read aloud off of the back cover with a look of mock curiosity. "That sounds _fascinating_…."

"Go away," Percy snapped, pulling the book out of their sight.

"'Course, he's very ambitious, Percy, he's got it all planned out…. He wants to be Minister of Magic…" Ron told them in a soft undertone as they left.

An hour later, they headed for Flourish and Blotts, the wizarding bookstore.

"A bit crowded today," Kate noted the bustling crowd trying to force their way through the doors. "Wonder what's… oh,"

There was a banner stretched across the upper windows of the store.

"Gilderoy Lockhart- isn't he-?"

Hermione cut her off. "We can actually meet him!"

Harry, Ron, and Kate gave Hermione a startled look.

"I mean, he's written almost the whole booklist!" She explained.

Quietly to Harry, Kate asked, "Why is the entire crowd middle-aged witches?"

Harry shrugged.

"Lockhart's incredibly good-looking," Ron explained with a look of mild nausea. "All the bimbos of the wizarding world want to marry him." Hermione didn't seem to hear him, standing on tiptoe to get a good look over the crowd.

A harassed-looking wizard stood at the door, attempting to keep things under control.

"Calmly, please, ladies… don't push, there… mind the books now…."

Harry and Kate exchanged sideways glances and squeezed inside behind Ron and Hermione. A long line wound right to the back of the shop, where Gilderoy Lockhart was signing his autobiography. Kate saw a winking picture of him on the cover. He certainly was handsome, with bright, unnaturally white, teeth, twinkling blue eyes, and blonde hair, but he gave her the willies. The four of them grabbed a copy of _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2_ and found the rest of the Weasleys, Mr. and Mrs. Granger, and Mrs. Slate.

"Oh, there you are, good," Mrs. Weasley smiled at them.

"…television shows pictures, telephone is just a sound-."

"Tellyvision shows pictures! How fascinating! How does it….?" Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Slate were still discussing the wonders of the Muggle world, apparently.

Mrs. Weasley, for once, was not irritated, but rather out of breath and patting her hair.

"We'll be able to see him in a minute…."

They were, in fact, quite close to the author himself at this point. Two giggling witches were flirting with him until they were shoved aside by the next group of eager witches. Soon he was clearly in view, surrounded by pictures of himself, all grinning and winking jauntily at the crowd.

A short, cranky man was hopping everywhere to get photographs with a large black camera that kept emitting puffs of purple smoke with every impossibly bright flash.

"Ouch!"

"Hey! Be careful!" Kate cried indignantly.

"Out of the way, there," the man snarled at Ron, ignoring Kate and moving back to get a better shot. "This is for the _Daily Prophet._"

"Big deal," Ron muttered, rubbing his foot where the irritable photographer had stepped on it.

"What a-."

Gilderoy Lockhart heard him and looked up. He saw Ron and Kate- and then his eyes widened with the sight of Harry. He leapt up and nearly shouted with excitement, "It _can't_ be Harry Potter?"

The noise died down into excited whispers and the crowd parted to allow Lockhart an unadulterated view of the famous Harry Potter. Kate raised and eyebrow at a bewildered Harry. Lockhart practically tackled Harry in an attempt to seize his arm and drag him up front. The crowd burst into applause.

"Eek, he's turning red," Kate noted to Ron.

Lockhart started shaking Harry's hand for the benefit of the photographer. The Weasleys, Slates, and Grangers started waving away the cloud of purple smoke that had enveloped them. When the smoke disappeared, Kate noticed Harry trying to sneak back over to the group, rubbing his hand uncomfortably. However, before he could escape, Lockhart clamped his arm around his shoulders and squeezed him to his side.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he said loudly, waving and receiving instantaneous quiet. "What an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time!"

"Uh-oh, I think he's going to propose," Kate whispered to Ron.

Ron let out a snort, but Lockhart didn't hear.

"When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography- which I shall present free of charge-" There was a storm of applause that stopped when Lockhart opened his mouth again. "He had _no idea_," Lockhart shook Harry fondly, causing his glasses to slide to the end of his nose, "that he would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, _Magical Me._ He and his schoolmates will, in fact, be getting the real magical me."

Ron and Kate exchanged bewildered and slightly horrified looks.

"Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

While the crowd cheered and Hermione positively squealed, Harry was forced to take the entire works of Gilderoy Lockhart.

"Oh no," Ron and Kate muttered.

Kate looked over to where Harry was dumping his armload of unsolicited books into Ginny's cauldron and saw a familiar blonde boy.

"Malfoy,"

"What?" Ron called over the noise.

"Malfoy!" She shouted, running over towards Harry, followed closely by Hermione and Ron.

"…didn't want all that!" Ginny glared at Malfoy.

"Potter, you've got yourself a _girlfriend!_" Malfoy drawled in amusement.

"Oh stuff it, Malfoy," Kate snapped as Ginny turned red.

Malfoy's head whipped to the side to look at Kate, Ron and Hermione as they got closer.

"Slate?" He asked, eyes narrowing. "You look like you've been pulled out of that old fat body of yours. Did you finally vomit yourself up?"

Kate's face burned with fury, and she grabbed onto Harry's sleeve as he started forward.

"Classy as ever, Draco Malfoy," she hissed.

Ron looked at Malfoy with disgust. "Bet you're surprised to see Harry here, eh?"

Malfoy smirked. "Not as surprised as I am to see you in a shop, Weasley. I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month to pay for all of those."

It was Ron's turn to lunge for Malfoy. He was stopped by Kate and Hermione holding onto the back of his jacket.

"Ron!" Mr. Weasley struggled over with Fred and George. "What are you doing? It's too crowded in here, let's go outside."

Mr. and Mrs. Granger along with Mrs. Slate came up behind them, looking nervous.

"Well, well, well- Arthur Weasley,"

A man with long silvery-blonde hair and cold gray eyes came up behind Draco Malfoy and put his hand on his shoulder, sneering in just the same way.

Kate wanted to ask if he was Satan, for Draco was certainly the spawn of the devil.

"Lucius," Mr. Weasley nodded coldly.

"Busy time at the Ministry, I hear," Mr. Malfoy said. "All those raids… I hope they're paying you overtime?" He reached lazily into Ginny's cauldron and took out a very old and worn copy of _A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration._ "Obviously not," Mr. Malfoy smirked. "Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"

Mr. Weasley flushed darker than either Ron or Ginny.

"We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy,"

"Clearly," said MR. Malfoy, his pale eyes wandering towards Mr. and Mrs. Granger and Mary Jane. "The company you keep, Weasley… and I though your family could sink no lower-"

Kate and Hermione glared at him and Kate had words on the tip of her tongue when Ginny's cauldron went flying. Mr. Weasley had thrown himself at Mr. Malfoy, knocking backward into a bookshelf. Dozens of heavy spell books came thundering down on all of their heads. There was a shout from either Fred or George that sounded like, "Get him, Dad!" Mrs. Weasley, who was struggling through the crowd, shrieked "No, Arthur, no!" The crowd stampeded backward, knocking more shelves over. "Gentlemen, please- please!" The assistant cried.

"Break it up, there, gents, break it up-." Hagrid's voice boomed over all of the hubbub. In practically no time at all, he had pulled the fighting wizards apart. Mr. Weasley's lip was bleeding and Mr. Malfoy had a spectacular bruise blossoming over his left eye. He was still holding Ginny's old Transfiguration book. He thrust it at her, his eyes glittering with malice.

"Here, girl- take your book- it's the best your father can give you." Pulling himself out of Hagrid's grip, he beckoned to Draco and the two of them swept from the shop.

Hagrid scolded Mr. Weasley for fighting, saying that the whole Malfoy family had bad blood and let them be. Kate noticed that he was carrying the dragon staff that she had given him last Christmas and smiled. He said goodbye to them and said he'd see the kids at school. Mrs. Weasley went of on Arthur until Fred cut her off. The group, once cheerful, had become subdued and said goodbye at the Leaky Cauldron.

The Grangers and Slates left together, as the Weasleys and Harry would be going back via Floo Powder.

"That was a bit frightening," Mrs. Granger said as they walked down the streets of London, looking for the bus stop.

"Kate, that Draco Malfoy boy… I don't think you should associate with him," Mrs. Slate said nervously.

Kate laughed. "That would never happen to begin with."

Hermione nodded.

"See you in school, 'Mione," Kate said goodbye.

"Nice to meet you both," Mrs. Slate said kindly.

They waited until the Grangers' bus had gone off before getting in the car and leaving for home. Kate only worried that her mother might worry too much about Hogwarts this year, but soon moved conversation to other topics until they got home.


	3. Chapter 3

**_S_**chool couldn't start soon enough. The last day, Kate hardly slept at all for anticipation. Certainly, she had enjoyed her time at home, but nothing quite compared to the excitement and constant adventure of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A groggy Mary Jane and Terence Slate drove her to King's Cross Station and saw her off with sincere hugs and kisses. Boarding the scarlet steam engine that would take her to the magical institution she so loved, she smiled lovingly at her parents and realized that she would miss them, but not too terribly much for now.

It took her little time to find Hermione sitting alone in a compartment, deeply engrossed in _Wanderings with Werewolves_ by Gilderoy Lockhart.

"Hey there,"

Hermione jumped slightly. "Ooh! Hello, Kate," she beamed and closed her book over her thumb. "How were the rest of your holidays?"

As if to make an obvious point, Kate withdrew two massive textbooks from her tote bag.

"Where did you get those?" Hermione asked eagerly, brown eyes lighting up. "Are you taking… mathematics and _A Beginner's Guide to French_… what…?"

"My father," Kate said gloomily, taking a heavy seat across from her. "He doesn't think Hogwarts is teaching enough."

"It won't hurt for you to learn another language or math," Hermione took Kate's French textbook and flipped curiously through it. "I rather wish we had these classes at Hogwarts. Ooh, there is just _so_ much to learn!"

"Hermione, I'm twelve years old," Kate sighed. "All I care about is enjoying myself right now and _math_ isn't going to get me to education nirvana."

Hermione opened her mouth to say something when the door popped open and an anxious freckly face peered around hopefully.

"Hi Kate, Hermione," it was Ginny Weasley, Ron's little sister.

"Hey Ginny," Kate said warmly, tugging her textbook out of Hermione's grasp.

"Can I sit in here with you?"

"'Course!" Kate welcomed, patting the seat next to her. "Where are that stupid brother of yours and his skinny little friend?"

"Harry?" Ginny blushed. "They're coming, I think,"

"Excited for school?" Kate asked.

Ginny nodded and looked at the door hopefully, brown eyes bright.

Kate quirked an eyebrow in Hermione's direction. Hermione simply shrugged and looked back down at her book. Looking back to Ginny, Kate caught sight of a small, black book.

"What's this?" Kate indicated what she was looking at.

Ginny's fingers tightened around it. "S'my diary,"

Kate grinned. "I admire that,"

"Sorry?" Ginny frowned.

"I don't have the willpower to keep a diary. That's really cool that you do,"

Ginny smiled uncertainly back.

"How long've you kept it for?"

"Just got it," Ginny explained. "In Diagon Alley. Then I thought it'd be fun to keep track of school, you know?"

"Yeah, that's a great idea, actually," Kate nodded. "When we've all grown up, you should read parts of it to us."

Ginny's smile faded slightly. "It's full of private things,"

Kate colored, feeling a bit guilty; she hadn't meant to suggest that Ginny should share her private thoughts. "I only meant your recordings of what people did, like Ron blowing up a cauldron or Hermione having a conniption when she got 19 out of 20 on a quiz."

"I would not have a _conniption_ over that grade," Hermione sniffed, looking away from her book for a moment.

"Admit it, you'd try to kill yourself at least,"

"I would n-"

"Oh! Yeah, that… yeah, I like that idea," Ginny giggled.

Hermione pursed her lips and deliberately began reading again.

"I can't believe you're reading that rubbish over our conversation of hilarity," Kate remarked.

Hermione looked up, flushed and breathless. "This isn't rubbish! Gilderoy Lockhart is not only our professor, but an internationally acclaimed wizard!"

Kate shrugged. "He gives me a bad feeling. I think he's a self-absorbed, fraudulent, conniving scumbag."

"Tell us how you really feel," Ginny laughed.

"Of course he's a little self-absorbed," Hermione snapped. "He's famous, after all! Look at all of the great things he's done-"

"Just because it's written in a book doesn't prove a thing," Kate saw that Hermione was not in a good mood. "Oh, Hermione, I'm sorry. Please don't be cross. You know you're my chum of honor."

Hermione didn't speak.

"Please?" Kate batted her eyes.

"You look ridiculous, please stop that," Hermione cracked a smile none-the-less.

"Say you love me,"

"No,"

"Say it," Kate laughed. "Because I know it's true,"

Ginny was giggling again.

"Kate, I just want to read my book,"

"Fine, Ginny and I can stare at the beautiful door together,"

Ginny, who had been watching the sliding door again, blushed and turned away.

The three of them were jerked slightly as the train began to move. Dozens of adults and parents waved to their children from outside the window. Kate was somewhat glad that her own parents were not among them.

"Where are those two?" Hermione frowned, closing her book and looking out of the window as the train moved out of the station. "Do you think they went into another compartment?"

"Never," Kate shook her head confidently. "Well, maybe, but why would they?"

The scenery changed quickly to the out-of-doors.

"Would they go somewhere else?" Ginny asked, looking crestfallen.

"I doubt it," Kate frowned. "I'll go take a-"

"I'll go," Ginny was on her feet and out the door in next to no time.

"Wow," Kate and Hermione chimed.

"Think she's a bit eager?" Kate asked, pulling her legs up onto the chair underneath her.

"Just a bit," Hermione smiled. "I think she fancies Harry,"

"Good observation," Kate laughed.

Hermione grinned somewhat apologetically.

"So, how was your summer really? Anything exciting happen? How were your old friends?"

"Nothing exciting really," Hermione shrugged. "It was actually quite dull after I finished my homework. One of my old friends, Chelsea, came over for a bit, but it was hard to keep a conversation going, what with the statute and all."

Kate nodded. "Understood. Hey, did you do something with your hair?"

Hermione reached up. "I tried straightening it, with a straighten-er, but it didn't really work."

"It looks good,"

"Really? It's still curly,"

"Hermione, it's wavy right now, there's a difference,"

Hermione frowned.

Then Kate burst out laughing, "I can't believe I'm having a discussion about hair with you. You're not Parvati or Lavender."

It was Hermione's turn to laugh. "They do talk about that stuff a lot,"

They sat in a comfortable silence a for a few seconds.

"Ooh, do you know if it's true… do we select more classes at the end of this year?"

Kate frowned. "I think that's right, but I'm not sure,"

"That will be exciting," Hermione beamed. "It's almost like being entrusted with more responsibility by the staff, isn't it?"

"Or," Kate lifted an eyebrow shrewdly, "a way to torture students who dare pass second year."

The compartment door slid open and in came three very unwelcome people.

"So it's Slate and Granger without Potter and Weasley," Draco Malfoy sniggered. "Any idea where your pals are?"

"I'm assuming somewhere on the train," Kate said coolly, giving Malfoy and his bulky chums a cold glare.

"So you don't know," Malfoy smirked.

"I wish I didn't know where _you_ were,"

"Manners, Slate," Malfoy motioned to Crabbe and Goyle, who started moving forward. "We wouldn't want to have to hurt you,"

Hermione's eyes were wide; she was frozen to her seat, book grasped between her hands. Kate started reaching for her tote bag, which had her wand encased cautiously inside. However, Goyle started reaching out for her arm. Kate leapt to her feet and backed away.

"Get the hell out of here," Kate snapped.

Hermione began to reach for her own wand, but Malfoy's wand was ready and with a quickly spat jinx, Hermione's limbs were immobile. Malfoy smirked in satisfaction and pocketed his wand again and turned back towards Kate. Inwardly, Kate swore to herself that she would keep her wand in easy access for the rest of her life.

"Come on now," Malfoy grinned, coming closer. "How about we fix all of this with a friendly handshake?"

Kate looked at Malfoy's proffered hand with a feeling a deep dread. A sense of claustrophobia began to overwhelm her as Crabbe, Goyle and Malfoy advanced on her from all sides. Her back pressed firmly against the window.

"Go away," she hissed, heart pounding heavily.

"It's just a simple handshake,"

"Don't you _dare_ touch me,"

Crabbe grabbed Kate's right wrist and squeezed. Kate gasped and tried to wrench away. She brought her left fist to slam into the rock that was Crabbe's arm. He didn't even flinch. Malfoy didn't touch her hand immediately, but studied it for a moment before tracing her pinky with his forefinger.

"Nice birthmark, Slate,"

Bubbling fury filled her gut and before she could even consider what she was doing, her foot flew out and she kicked Malfoy hard in the leg. He cursed and leaped back. Crabbe and Goyle let her go and went to their master just as the door opened to admit Ginny, Fred and George.

"What the hell-?"

"Let's get out of here," Malfoy grimaced, limping out of the compartment.

"Just you wait a minute-!" Fred reached out to grab Malfoy's robe from behind, but he evaded his gripand snuck away towards his own compartment, followed by his bulky mates, who Fred wasn't too interested in touching.

"What just happened?" George asked, as Fred glared down the corridor, Ginny standing ashen at his side.

Kate wasn't paying attention as she ripped her bag open and yanked out her wand. She turned to Hermione and spat the counter-jinx.

"Kate!" Hermione leaped to her feet.

"What the hell just happened?" George repeated, grabbing Kate's shoulders.

"I don't know," Kate admitted, breathing heavily.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Fred cried. "That wanker came in here and…?"

Kate tried to figure out what had happened. "He looked at my birthmark."

Fred and George exchanged looks. "Where's your birthmark?"

Kate showed them.

"Oh,"

"Why would he want to look at your birthmark?"

"I don't know,"

The five of them stood in silence.

"Well, that's just weird," George shrugged. "Watch out for that kid. He's from a bad family and I'm a horklump if he's not as bad as the rest of them."

"Anyway, we're here to say, we don't know where that stupid brother of ours is or Harry," Fred said, clapping a hand on Ginny's shoulder. "But we expect they're alright,"

Kate and Hermione frowned at one another.

The twins spent the rest of the ride in Kate's and Hermione's compartment to make sure that Malfoy didn't get any fresh ideas and return. The conversation started out strained, but managed to turn to more pleasant topics, like ways they would like to kill Malfoy. Kate came up with a technique involving toothpicks that Fred and George built off of until Ginny finished it with a bonfire. Hermione stayed quiet and buried herself back in her book, looking drawn and worried. Towards the end of the ride, the twins left to go get changed. After they had all changed and gotten off of the train, Hermione, Ginny and Kate got into a carriage drawn by invisible horses. They glanced around the crowd looking for any signs of Harry or Ron and failed to find any.

"Hey, Hermione, you okay?" Kate asked, as they began to roll along.

Hermione nodded. "Well, a little bothered," she said softly. "I should have gotten to my wand faster."

Kate made a strange noise like a laugh. "That's how I felt. I'm going to start keeping it strapped to a belt or something. That stupid little creep will get his before the year is over. So don't feel bad, 'kay?"

"Why would he want to see your birthmark, though?" Ginny asked, clutching her diary to her chest.

Kate shrugged and opened her hand. The three of them peered at it as though it would somehow reveal whatever secret Malfoy was hiding from them.


	4. Chapter 4

"Where _are_ they?" Hermione whispered, as the Sorting Hat sang a new song. Blushing madly, Ginny had snuck away from them to join the first years as they had entered and joined their trembling line. "Do you think they missed the train?"

Kate shrugged, watching as "Angell, Marissa," was sorted into Ravenclaw.

"Where do you think Professor Snape is?" Hermione asked as "Crimmins, Belle" joined Marissa at the Ravenclaw table.

Kate frowned, looking at the staff table. "No idea,"

"Do you think the two are related?"

"What two?"

Hermione clucked her tongue at Kate's absence of mind. "Ron's and Harry's disappearance and Professor Snape's-"

"Oh, maybe," Kate craned her neck to look again around the crowded Great Hall. The sea of black pointed hats was somewhat dizzying and with the floating candles casting strange shadows, it was difficult to tell who was who from far away.

When Ginny Weasley was finally sorted into Gryffindor House and the feast had been well under way, Hermione and Kate finally stopped discussing what might have happened to Ron and Harry.

"I can't believe I didn't go on the boats with the rest of the first years," Ginny muttered, scooping up a forkful of mashed potatoes. "How stupid I must have looked."

"Don't worry, little sister," George grinned. "You don't look any dumber than the rest of the first years,"

"Oh shut up," Ginny growled.

Lee Jordan ran down to their part of the table and took an eager seat between George and Ginny.

"You won't _believe_ what I just heard,"

"What do you mean?" Fred asked.

"Your little brother and Harry Potter," Lee laughed. "They missed the train and took a _flying car_ instead!"

"You're joking!" Ginny, Fred and George chimed.

Hermione exclaimed her disapproval while Kate began to laugh uproariously.

"That's too good!" Kate said through her laughter. "They should have taken us too!"

"Yeah! The little pricks!" Fred shook his head. "They deserve a good walloping."

"Don't be ridiculous," Hermione sniffed, slamming down her goblet of pumpkin juice and sloshing some over the sides. "That _can't_ be true,"

"I heard they'll be expelled for it," Seamus Finnigan turned to join the conversation.

"D'you think they've been?" Kate asked, suddenly sober.

"Doubt it," Fred shrugged. "We've done _loads_ of illegal things and we've yet to be expelled,"

As soon as desert appeared, Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore left the staff table and didn't return for quite some time. The start of term feast was incredibly tense for Kate and Hermione this year. Hermione, who usually made sure to get some treacle tart, touched nothing and scrutinized every face up and down the Gryffindor table.

Hermione pursed her lips and soon after they had been dismissed to bed, she dragged Kate to go in search of Harry and Ron.

"They'll probably already be in the dorm by now," Kate groaned, as they marched up yet another set of steps. "And do we even know the password? What if _we're _locked out? Then the joke's on us, and I'll never forgive you."

"I asked Percy," Hermione said impatiently.

"Oh, care to share that little tidbit in case I decide to abandon our foolish escapade?"

Hermione glared at her.

"I'll take that as a 'no.'" Kate glanced up at a portrait of a snoring old warlock collapsed over a pile of books. "Come on, let's at least head back. Maybe they're going that way."

Clearly torn, Hermione finally agreed and bustled back towards their common room next to Kate. At the entrance, they saw the backs of Ron and Harry standing dumbfounded by the portrait. They didn't know the password yet, of course. Kate felt Hermione tense up next to her and start rapidly forward, her feet pounding the ground a little more ferociously. Not able to muster up any energy, Kate trudged after her.

"_There _you are! Where have you _been?_ The most _ridiculous_ rumors—someone said you'd been expelled for crashing a flying _car_—"

Ron and Harry turned to face them, looking a little worse for wear. Kate sped up to look more closely at them.

"Well, we haven't been expelled," Harry's voice was glum.

"You're not telling me you _did _fly here?" Hermione's lips pursed and her tone reminded Kate strongly of Professor McGonagall.

"Skip the lecture," said Ron impatiently, "and tell us the new password."

"It's 'wattlebird,'" said Hermione irritably, "but that's not the point—"

"Oh, you tell _them—_"

She was cut off as the portrait of the fat lady swung open. They were knocked back by a thunderous storm of applause. All of the Gryffindors seemed to have been waiting for this moment, standing on any surface available—arm chairs, coffee tables, each other—and they reached through to grab Harry and Ron, leaving Kate and Hermione to scuttle in after them.

Ron and Harry disappeared into the abyss of the crowd amidst cries of praise.

"Brilliant—!"

"…for years!"

"Good for you!"

"Ingenious!"

Kate saw Hermione scowling after them and decided to get into bed before Hermione did, that way she might avoid collateral damage.

"S'cuse me," she wormed her way through the crowd and sprightly darted upstairs. The girl's dormitory was empty, so she changed quickly, brushed her teeth, took out her contacts, and got into bed. When she heard footsteps on the stairs, she drew her curtains shut, not in the mood for anymore of Hermione's crankiness right then. She'd probably be dealing with it all tomorrow.

Unfortunately, Hermione seemed to know that Kate wasn't actually asleep and she burst through her curtains to sit huffily on Kate's four-poster.

"Hermione—!"

"Can you _believe_ them? So _stupid_!"

"True," Kate agreed. "But we don't seem to know the whole story, do we?"

Hermione was silent to this. "You think there's more to it than just crass idiocy?"

Kate shrugged from her pillow. "Probably. They're not complete dullards."

"Maybe you're right,"

"About them not being complete dullards or more to the story?"

"Both,"

"Ouch,"

Hermione smiled slightly and the girls giggled.

That morning, Kate awoke with an ungodly jerk to alertness. She couldn't remember her dream except that it was nightmarish. Throughout her routine run, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong. It wasn't until her shower that the post-dream tremors left her entirely. After stepping out, she wrapped a towel around herself and went up to the steamy mirror and wiped until she could make out her face. Her eyes were a bit red because of the contact lenses; she remembered that the eye doctor had said something about 40 percent of the time with contacts and 60 without to let her eyes breathe. She would get to that eventually. Habitually, she poked her cheekbones, as if to remind herself that the Predni-flub was gone.

She got dressed and went out to the common room, allowing her hair to air dry in a sloppy ponytail. With no one to talk to and nothing to do, she pulled out one of Gilderoy Lockhart's texts—_Gabbing with Ghouls_—and read a little more. She hated reading his books; they were so horribly pretentious and arrogant. She positively dreaded the prospect of his class and imagined ways she could avoid it. She found herself lingering with a disgusted sneer over a particular passage in the book, unintentionally re-reading it as her mind wandered.

_Of course, every wizard must have his leisure time. Before I went on to heroically face the devastatingly powerful hag with a propensity to eat young children in Yugoslavia, I spent a bit of time at _L'Homme Magique _in Paris. Pierre, a friend more than salesman, helped me to find the exact shade of periwinkle that brought out my eyes. It is important, you see, to find that oh-so magical color…._

He went on to describe every type of cloth he sampled and its merits and downfalls. Kate wondered how this man could be so impossibly self-centered and famous at the same time. Hadn't anybody else recognized the sheer idiocy of this dolt? She closed the book with an irritable sigh and glared at the winking picture on the cover. She turned it over on the sofa so that she wouldn't have to look at it anymore.

About a quarter of an hour passed before anyone trudged down the steps, and that first person was Oliver Wood, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

"Damn, beat me again," he yawned.

"Nyah," she stuck her tongue out at him.

"How adorable," he said sarcastically, taking a heavy seat next to her on the sofa. He reached under himself to extract the forsaken book. "Oh, you had to get this lot too?"

"Didn't everyone?"

"Looks it,"

"It's not self-promotional or anything,"

"It's rubbish is what it is,"

"Agreed," Kate curled her lip and hit the book out of his hand as Lockhart winked cheekily up at them. It landed with a soft thump on the carpet. "Enough of him."

"I rather wish I'd dropped the class. If I'd known it would be Lockhart—well…. My mum is so obsessed with this bloke and I don't understand."

"It's because he has marvelously beautiful eyes and a smile to die for," Kate fluttered her eyes.

"I take it you don't feel so inclined,"

Kate winked, imitating Lockhart surprisingly well. "Smart."

They sat in silence for awhile, staring blankly at the fireplace. Kate felt a bit awkward and so asked him about Quidditch, a sure monologue starter. That way she could be silent without feeling guilty. And there he went. It was nice to be back.


End file.
